Tossed in Time
by Darquess
Summary: Accidents can happen... During her third year at Hogwarts, Hermione ends up going back in time too far. She suddenly finds herself standing in Gaius' study. Stuck in a time where any form of magic is punishable by death, Hermione must remain anonymous while she works out how to get home. Awful things happen to wizards who meddle with time...
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger let the book in her lap close with a soft slap, it was dry even by her own standards and really not that much help. She placed the heavy volume on the small stack beside her, re-reading the titles printed across the thick spines. _The Moral Philosophy of Beasts and Captivity_, P_rotecting Rights on Behalf of Other Species_, and_ Legislative and Regulatory Options for Animal Welfare_ were just a few that she had read today. By far the most interesting book she had held today was her personal copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_, but a book that gave a general description of Hippogriffs was not going to be that helpful when Hagrid had to take Buckbeak for his hearing.

Head still swimming with legal jargon, Hermione picked up her stack of books and started down the aisles of books to return them to their proper place. As her load slowly lightened, she made note of other book titles that seemed like their contents might be helpful. As promising as _Compassionate Beasts: Understanding and Protecting Magical Creatures_ sounded, the library would be closing soon, and Madam Pince was a stickler for making sure that all students were out of the library at the proper time. There simply weren't enough hours in a day for Hermione to finish all of her class work and help Hagrid prepare for the hearing. She needed more time…

She stopped in her tracks when she realized her hand had strayed to the fine golden chain around her neck. All the time in the world was right there - No. She ignored those thoughts as she pushed another book firmly towards its proper shelf. That was only for studies. She'd promised McGonagall that. And yet, as the last book left her hand to slide itself into its proper spot, she was fiddling with the chain again. In a way, it would be studying, just not for classes.

She glanced around, making sure no one was there before pulling on the chain until she drew up a tiny, sparkling hour glass. She really shouldn't, Professor McGonagall's warnings sounded in her head as if the Transfiguration teacher were standing right behind her, but it wasn't like she was trying to change the past. She just needed another hour, and she'd only be here in the library, and it wasn't for herself it was for Hagrid.

It was against her better judgement, but Hermione did decide to turn back time an hour. She'd go to another part of the library, she reasoned, no one would ever know. Or maybe she would go back two hours. The more she went backwards, the more risk she took, but she'd been in the library all afternoon so what harm could it do? She loosened the chain just a little, drew a deep breath, and turned the hourglass the first time.

As she started to turn the hour glass a second time, she heard someone come around the corner. It was too late to tuck the TIme Turner away and pretend nothing happened, so she tried to turn to face the book case, but the person approaching wasn't going to let her off that easy. Whoever it was gave out a "Move it Granger!" before she felt a force slam into her back. Caught halfway through her turn, Hermione spun around once before her momentum brought her to the floor. She looked up to try and see who had shoved her, but all she saw was the tail end of a set of student robes disappearing around the books. She couldn't even tell what house they were in, although from the rude actions and calling her by her last name she was going to assume that they were a member of the Slytherin House.

A near silent ping sounded. If its source hadn't been right near her head, Hermione wouldn't have heard it at all. She knew what it was before she saw it, there was only one thing it could be. The sound came from the Time Turner, bouncing off the stone floor of the library. When had she even let go of it? And the hour glass.. it was still turning! The part of her mind that was still functioning properly was screaming for her to grab it, to stop it from turning anymore, but she could only watch with dread and horror as it spun over and over again. How many times had it turned before she saw it? How many times was it turning now as she saw it bounce against the floor again like a slow motion movie. The hour glass bounced once more before rolling to a stop.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. She was still on the floor of the library, staring at the Time Turner. Hermione hardly dared to breathe - could she be that lucky? - she picked up the hour glass. She let it rest in her palm as she stood up. Had it turned too many times? Maybe there was a fail-safe to keep her from trying to go back too far.

Before relief had a chance to wash over her, she felt it. That sensation she had felt many times over this year, the feeling that let her know time was about to rewind. What was normally a gentle pull backwards felt more like a jerk as colors violently blurred around her. Shapes flew by at a blinding pace, pressure was building against her ears to the point where she wanted to scream, and her stomach felt like it was rising into her throat then dropping to her feet only to fly back up.

As the colors and shapes started to slow down, her ears cleared up enough to hear words, a dialogue that would give her a brief glimpse at when she would be landing.

"I've never seen anything like this before…" one voice said.

"Do you think it could be some kind of plague?" a younger voice asked.

"No, I fear something like this could never come from nature. But who has this kind of power?"

"You think this was by magic?"

The scene around her was coming into view now. Her feet hit the ground but after her travel experience she was unsteady. She stumbled backwards, colliding with a table which resulted in a metallic clatter and the sound of a glass object breaking.

"Good Lord," shouted the first voice she had heard a moment ago. The sound of feet slapping against stone told her that someone was moving, and as the noise grew closer she knew whoever it was had come right over to her.

"Are you alright?" the second voice came from right next to her.

"I'm fine," Hermione said even as the room continued to swim in her vision. "I.. I just need to sit down-" Her sight went black before she fell.


	2. Chapter 2

Merlin managed to catch the girl with the bushy brown hair before she hit the floor. He had seen that she was unsteady on her feet but he hadn't expected her to collapse in front of him. "Is she alright?" he asked, looking up at Gaius over her head. Even though this girl had only just appeared he was clearly concerned for her well-being.

Almost reluctantly, Gaius left the eerie corpse on his table to take a brief look at their sudden visitor. "Well, it looks as though she just fainted," he said, although he didn't get particularly close to her.

"Can you wake her up?" Merlin asked, lowering her to rest on the floor instead of in his arms. He found the way she dressed odd, but then he wasn't used to seeing a girl in anything but dresses and skirts. What kind of land did she come from, where women dressed as men?

"I could," Gaius admitted with some hesitation. "But Merlin, I just told you that whatever killed that man -" he gestured back to his examination table, "- died of an unnatural disease. And now this girl appears out of nowhere in my study?"

"Could be a coincidence," Merlin suggested with a shrug.

"And if it's not?" Gaius asked, wondering if the boy had even considered the possibility.

"Well we won't know unless we ask her." Merlin had a grin on his face. He knew he was right, and he was hopeful that Gaius would see his reasoning and agree with him.

Gaius exhaled through his nose, staring down at his charge. He still wasn't sure if Merlin realized there could be some danger to waking this girl if she was the cause of the plague. If she was some kind of sorceress, one powerful enough to conjure such a strange disease, there was no telling what she could do. However, a fainting spell could be a sign of a brain injury, and there was only one way to check for that.

"I'm only doing this because it's my duty as court physician," he told Merlin as he picked up a stoppered bottle from a nearby table. "Brace her shoulders, she won't like this."

* * *

A dreadful stench filled Hermione's nostrils, bringing her out of her stupor. She gagged on the smell, instinctively trying to struggle away from it but something was holding her in place. A sneeze forced the worst of the smell out, though it still lingered.

"What was that?!" A voice asked just above her as she sneezed again. Whoever it was also sounded disgusted by the smell.

"Wake-flower," said an older voice. "There's some debate on if it should even be called 'flower', but it gets the job done."

Hang on, that wasn't right. If she had fainted, she should have been brought to the Hospital Wing. It should be Madam Pomfrey's voice she was hearing. One more sneeze cleared the last of that offending odor and Hermione's eyes flew open. She found herself staring up into a pair of brilliant blue eyes. For a second she thought it could be Ron looking down at her, but then she saw his hair was far darker than her friend's. Glancing quickly around the room, taking in the stacks of books, parchment and the almost archaic science tools, only confirmed her fears: she wasn't in Hogwarts anymore.

"Take it easy," said the boy above her. Whatever was holding her shoulders loosened a little. It wasn't hard to guess now that it was the blue-eyed boy holding her. "We're not going to hurt you."

An older man was stepping away from a table - presumably where he had just placed the bottle of this 'wake-flower' that had revived her - and knelt in front of her to ask, "How are you feeling?" He had white hair nearly down to his shoulders and was wearing a sort of robe that was as yellow as old parchment. And his voice, when he spoke she could hear a stern tone that told her he would not stand for lies, but it also held concern and years of experience. In a way, his voice reminded her of Professor Dumbledore and that thought brought her a little comfort.

"Better," she answered simply, sitting up so that the boy was not holding her.

"Good, and do you remember your name?"

"...Hermione," she answered after briefly hesitating. "My name's Hermione." She knew why he was asking these questions, it was a basic test to see if whatever had caused her to faint had also brought on amnesia. Why had she fainted anyway? It was all a bit fuzzy to her…

Oh. Oh no. A sense of dread filled Hermione as everything came back to her. She'd gone into the past, much farther than she would have ever intended to go. She was probably breaking at least fifty laws just by sitting there, not to mention all of the things that could change just because she was here. She was going to be in so much trouble when she got back…

"And what year is it?" the old man inquired, continuing to test her memory.

When Hermione had been reading in the library, the answer would have been January of 1994. However, she didn't dare say that out loud. She had no idea how far backwards she had gone, better to be safe than sorry. "What year should it be?"

Her question drew a brief laugh from the man. "A year when it's dangerous for young girls to use magic."

"Magic?" Hermione felt a tiny bubble of panic rise within her. She was already breaking enough laws as it was, best not to break the Statute of Secrecy too (at least, not intentionally). "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come now, girls don't just appear out of nowhere in the middle of the day," the old man was clearly not fooled by her act.

"It's okay," said the boy behind her encouragingly. "I have magic too."

"Now tell me, were you sent here or did you come yourself?" the man asked her. "If you came yourself, it was fair foolish of you to do so now of all times."

Hermione bit her bottom lip. She was already going to be in so much trouble, how much more would she be in now if she admitted that she was a witch? "It was an accident," she finally blurted out. "I never meant - "

"Merlin!"

Hermione jumped at the sound of the new voice, but she wasn't the only one. The blue-eyed boy and the white-haired man shared a look.

"Arthur," the boy said, straightening up quickly.

"The body," the man said, as if that perfectly complimented the name the boy had said. He was a little slower to get up, but the boy was already dashing off towards the doorway.

Hermione watched him go, the man not far behind him. She silently mouthed the two names she had heard, and then her hands flew up to cover her mouth. She knew approximately when she was in time now, and it was much, much farther back than she had thought the Time Turner was even capable of. As the boy, the one she could only assume was Merlin, opened the door and the old man stepped in front of a table, Hermione scrambled to her feet and moved to a spot where anyone in the doorway wouldn't be able to easily see her.

"Ahh...I'm on my way. Sorry I'm late," Merlin said to whoever was on the other side of the door.

"Don't worry. I'm getting used to it," came a resigned voice. He must have made some kind of gesture because Merlin immediately said something about a Gwen giving him an item. Whatever it was must not have been that important though, because the person on the other side of the door - the Arthur?! - continued, "Tell Gaius my father wants to see him now."

Merlin shut the door and turned around. "Gaius," he started to say, but the old man cut him off.

"I heard," Gaius said, moving away from the table now.

As Merlin questioned why Arthur couldn't tell Gaius himself, Hermione let out the breath she had been holding. She could relax a little now that the door was closed. The less people who saw her, the better. But how long could she stay hidden?

When Gaius called Merlin a 'dogsbody', she remembered that Gaius had mentioned something about a body only a few moments ago. The body must be on the table that Gaius had stepped in front of, she reasoned. But why did they need to keep Arthur from seeing it?

She took a few steps toward the table as Gaius and Merlin set about gathering a few items. She realized she shouldn't poke her nose into affairs anymore than she already had, but her inquisitive nature was all but demanding she look at the body on the table. Just a quick look, she told herself, a glance as Gaius was gathering what he needed…

The sight of the body sent a chill down Hermione's spine. She'd never seen or read about anything like this. The corpse was as white as the ghosts she had seen wandering Hogwarts, the lack of color broken only by the veins that were visible underneath. It was the eyes that unsettled her the most though. They weren't just glazed over, they were completely white, no sign of his iris or pupil.

"What - What is that?" she asked out loud, recoiling from the sight. Gaius and Merlin turned to look at her, as if they had forgotten she was there for a moment. She looked between the two of them, waiting for some kind of answer.

Finally, Gaius spoke up, "That is an excellent question." He came to stand at the opposite side of the table from her. "Whatever killed this man was not natural. And then a girl appears in my study with no explanation?" He looked her up and down, probably looking for some kind of reaction from her. "I don't suppose you have anything to do with this?"

Hermione was horrified by what he was implying. "No! I would never… why would you think that?!"

"I have to consider all possibilities," Gaius said, although to Hermione he didn't sound as though he had dismissed her as a possibility. She was certain that if Arthur hadn't said that he was wanted, Gaius would have questioned her a little more harshly. He did seem satisfied with her answer for now as he pulled out a plain brown cloak. She expected him to put it on to go wherever he was needed, and was surprised when he handed it to her. "Here, put this on."

She took the cloak hesitantly, looking up at Gaius. "What is this for?"

"To cover up!" He said as though that were obvious. Hermione looked down at her jeans and purple sweater. She thought she was pretty well covered. Gaius must have seen her confusion because he continued, "You're wearing men's clothes. We can't have you wandering around Camelot wearing that. I'll see about finding you something better to wear after I deal with whatever killed that man."

"I don't plan on wandering Camelot at all," she said under her breath, but she pulled the cloak around her shoulders anyway. It was a far too large for her, some of the fabric folded on top of itself on the floor, but it meant that not one piece of her clothes was visible underneath.

Gaius nodded approvingly before picking up a satchel from the table. "Come along Merlin, best not keep Uther waiting any longer." Merlin looked like he wanted to protest leaving, but he fell in step behind Gaius, leaving Hermione behind with the corpse.

Hermione took a few steps away from the main table, wanting to add some distance between herself and the unsettling body. Now that she was alone again, her thoughts turned to how she wasn't supposed to be here. She ran a hand through her hair as she thought about all the laws surrounding the use of items like the Time Turner. It was bad enough that she had come here, but she had seen and spoken to two people. She just hoped that her being here wouldn't change her own time too much.

* * *

"So?" Merlin asked after he and Gaius had gone a few steps up the hall.

"So what?" Gaius questioned, keeping them moving at a brisk pace.

"Do you think she has anything to do with…" Merlin wasn't quite sure how to bring up the body without someone overhearing and questioning them, so he left it at simply "-that?"

"I think it's unlikely," Gaius admitted. Merlin's grin came back, he'd been right about something. "However, at this point I won't rule anything out," the old man continued with a note of caution in his voice. "Now, no more talk of this until we're away from prying eyes."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Well, I was aiming for my next update to go through the end "The Mark of Nimueh". That was overly ambitious of me. I couldn't let Hermione's birthday go by without an update. I am very sorry for the long wait, I will try to update more often!**

* * *

Merlin and Gaius returned to the chambers some time later, bringing with them another body and a bag full of various items collected in the market. Both were surprised to find no one in the room when they came back, their mysterious guest was nowhere in sight. If she hadn't left Gaius' rooms, there was only one place where she could have gone. So, as Gaius closed the door behind them he gestured towards the stairs in the back.

Merlin understood and wandered around the tables towards his room. He stopped with one foot on the lowest step. "Hermione..?" He called up hesitantly, hoping he remembered her name right. A part of him almost hoped she wasn't up there as he remembered the state he had left his room in. He didn't want Arthur seeing his room, let alone a girl.

After a moment, he heard the soft _click_ of the door opening. In the slowly widening gap of the door, Merlin spotted bushy brown hair and doe brown eyes. "Merlin?" her voice sounded faintly relieved as she opened the door wider.

Merlin managed not to wince as he spied the mess of his room beyond the long brown cloak. He hoped that she didn't think less of him after seeing that. He also noticed that the cloak wasn't as long as it had been when they left, she had shortened it somehow so that the bottom was just grazing the floor. He would have to ask her how she did that later. "What were you doing up there?" He asked, beckoning for her to come down and join them.

"I thought it would be better to stay up there while you were gone," she said vaguely as she pulled his door shut behind her. As she came down the steps Merlin had to back into the room to give her the space to come down. "If anyone came looking for the two of you and it was just me here…"

"A wise decision," Gaius spoke up from his examination table. He had wasted no time in looking into the new body, looking it over while Merlin was fetching the girl. Presently, he was doing something to the man's abdomen, but Merlin couldn't see what past the sheet covering it. "For the time being, it would be best if you remained undiscovered. Especially with the current state of affairs." How the old man was able to carry on a normal conversation while examining a body was beyond Merlin. Soon Gaius straightened up and let the sheet fall. He was holding a vial of milky-white liquid as he came further into the room.

"What's that?" Merlin questioned, stepping away from the girl to try and get a good look at it.

"The contents of that man's stomach," Gaius answered as he swirled the liquid around.

Hermione, who had made no attempts to come closer, quietly cleared her throat. Merlin glanced back at her out of the corner of his eye and saw she had raised a hand to cover her mouth. She didn't seem comfortable with talking about what Gaius was doing with the dead men, so Merlin kept his next question simple. "Will that tell you who did it?"

"No," Gaius admitted as he began to heat the vial. "But it might tell us how it's spread." He raised the liquid to eye-level for a moment before placing it back over the flames. "One thing I do know, this is magic of the darkest kind." Merlin felt a brief chill run down his spine at that thought. Gaius glanced back at Hermione for a moment and then his voice dropped low so only Merlin could hear his next statement. "Which is why I don't think this girl is involved. Even if she had dedicated her entire life to dark magic she wouldn't be able to accomplish anything like this yet."

Merlin was relieved to hear that Gaius no longer suspected Hermione of causing the plague. He now realized that he had never really thought she was capable of spreading this disease. But that left them without any ideas of who it could be. And the fact that someone was using magic to cause others harm disgusted him at his very core. "Why would someone use magic like that?" he asked, voicing his thoughts out loud.

Gaius looked at Merlin, abandoning his investigations for a moment. "Magic corrupts. People use it for their own ends."

To Merlin, that wasn't an acceptable answer. He shook his head fiercely as he tried to deny the statement. "But not all magic is bad. I know it isn't." He put emphasis on the last statement. He may not have been learning magic for long, but he knew magic could be good.

"Magic is just a tool," Hermione spoke up behind them. Merlin turned to look at her. She looked a little embarrassed to have drawn attention to herself, but she continued on. "Magic itself isn't good or evil, but how you intend to use it can be."

Gaius was nodding in approval at her answer, perhaps he was going to say something in agreement with her, when they heard the sound of armored guards marching up the hall toward their chambers. Hermione suddenly got a look in her eyes, like a startled rabbit in the middle of a fox hunt. As the door to the room opened, she turned and ran for the stairs back to Merlin's room. Merlin could easily see that she wasn't going to make it in time.

Acting on pure instinct, Merlin called on his magic. He hadn't done this in some time, ever since Gaius had given him the book he had tried to use only incantations with his magic. This time, he didn't know the words that would help him. It was just like on the day he had arrived in Camelot, but he could feel more control over the situation. Everything around Merlin started to slow, and then stopped altogether. Everything except for Hermione, who was quickly disappearing from view. It was hard, holding this spell. He was also afraid of getting caught, it was very possible that whoever was coming in would realize that he was using magic right now.

He held everyone else in place until he heard the door shut safely. It was a relief to let the magic go, it felt like huge weight had suddenly left his shoulders, but he didn't get to enjoy that feeling for long. Free of his spell, the door crashed open behind Gaius. The two of them turned to see several guards followed by Prince Arthur entering the study.

"Over there," Arthur directed one of his guards to a side area of the chamber before turning to the two of them. "Sorry Gaius, we're searching every room in town."

"What for?" Gaius demanded. His eyes briefly met Merlin's - did he know what he had just done? - before following Arthur around the room.

"A sorcerer," Arthur said as he walked around, giving things a general look over.

"But why would he be here?"

"I'm just doing my job," Arthur insisted, turning to continue his check.

"We've nothing to hide. Go on, then. Search," Gaius said, looking at Merlin again. Merlin's eyes slid towards the stairs, knowing full well that they did have something, or rather _someone _to hide.

At least Arthur didn't seem to be paying them much mind. The guards certainly weren't as they touched almost every item in the room. The Prince himself started looking through the items on one of Gaius' tables. "All of these books and papers?" he asked, clearly not planning on reading them all through himself.

"My life's work dedicated to the understanding of science," Gaius said with a little pride. Merlin wondered if that was entirely true, Gaius did seem to have a few books that weren't strictly for science purposes around his study. He was a little concerned that Arthur would find them, but apparently Gaius wasn't because he offered, "You are quite welcome to read through them if you wish."

Merlin might have laughed at the look on Arthur's face. The old man had been trying to get Merlin to read something that wasn't the magic book, Arthur was far less interested in reading much of anything, especially not books on science. He flipped the cover closed, suddenly even more unconcerned with the pile. As he looked around the chamber, Merlin vaguely hoped that searching just around here would be enough, but as Arthur's eyes landed on the back stairs he realized that was far-fetched.

"What's up there?" Arthur asked, pointing toward the stairs and turning to the two of them.

"Just my room," Merlin said dismissively. _Don't go up, don't go up…_ Merlin silently pleaded. If Arthur could hear his silent pleas, he ignored them and immediately walked toward the stairs.

Gaius was also concerned at the thought of Arthur going up there, "And what do you expect to find in there?" he asked in a raised voice. If his question didn't deter the prince, it would at least warn their guest someone was coming her way.

Arthur continued on his way, calling over his shoulder, "I'm looking for material or evidence suggesting the use of enchantments."

Merlin was already concerned about what would happen when Arthur entered the room to see a person there. He turned to face Gaius, about to ask what he should say, when Gaius leaned in to ask, "What've you done with the magic book I gave you?"

Merlin knew his worry was painted all over his face. A girl he couldn't explain and a book that would incriminate all three of them if it were found, both would be in plain sight in his room. Arthur was going to find at least one of those things, and Merlin had no idea what would happen next.

"Merlin, come here," Arthur's voice drifted down the steps. Merlin felt his heart thud in his chest at the summons. He certainly couldn't put this off for long. Fearing the worst, Merlin headed up the stairs to his room.

Hesitantly coming through the open door, Merlin found himself staring at Arthur's back. The prince was standing at the corner of the bed, and past his blonde head Merlin could see Hermione. She was looking down at the floor in front of her, looking much like a child that had been caught doing something they had just been instructed not to do, but when Merlin entered the room she glanced up and caught his eye. She was trying to hide it, and was doing a rather good job at doing so, but Merlin could see she was a little scared.

Arthur glanced over his shoulder to see he had entered the room. "Merlin," he started, turning and taking a step toward him. "...There's a girl in your room." he said simply.

Well, so far it wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be. At least Arthur was giving him the chance to explain things. Uther certainly wouldn't give them that chance. "Yes, yes there is," he said, keeping his answer simple for now.

Arthur folded his arms over his chest and lowered his voice a little so that the conversation was private between the two of them. "And are you two, ah...?" he started to ask.

Merlin understood what he was getting at before Arthur finished his question. "No!" He quickly said, barely thinking about the answer. "No, it's not like that at all." Despite his denial, he could feel a grin unintentionally forming on his face.

Arthur looked him over. Merlin could see the wheels turning in his head. By all rights he should be taking Hermione in for questioning, Merlin knew that, but it seemed like he wanted to hear them out. He lowered his arms, letting his right hand rest on the hilt of his sword and turned back to Hermione. "Who, may I ask, are you?"

Merlin was surprised Arthur hadn't asked this of her already. Had he called for him to come up as soon as he saw Hermione standing there?

Hermione didn't seem ready for this question, even though she had to know it had been coming. "I...uhm…" she was floundering for an answer under Arthur's expecting gaze. "I'm…" her voice trailed off again, she had nothing to say.

"My sister," Merlin suddenly jumped in, hardly thinking about the words until they were out of his mouth. Arthur half turned around to look at him again, he didn't look like he believed him. Behind the Prince's back, Merlin saw Hermione's jaw slacken, as if she couldn't believe he was saying it either. Well, now that he said it he had to stick with it. "She's my little sister," he stated again, although this time he said it calmer and in firmer tone, hopefully more convincing. He wished he could go and stand beside Hermione, but with Arthur standing between the corner of his bed and the cupboard the only way to do that would be to walk over the bed. So he instead gestured over Arthur's shoulder in an attempt to introduce the two. "This is my sister Hermione," as Arthur turned in her direction, Hermione straightened up a little and wiped any disbelief off of her face, "Hermione this is Arthur."

"Arthur?" Merlin watched Hermione's eyes widen at the name. "Prince Arthur of Camelot?" She asked, sounding both amazed and in awe at the title Arthur held.

"Yes," Arthur conceded to his identity. He didn't show much of a reaction to the statement but Merlin was sure he stood a little straighter after being named.

Realizing who was standing in front of her seemed to help Hermione get her act together. "Oh, forgive me, uhm, my lord." She dipped into what Merlin thought was a curtsey, but she didn't bow low enough for her cloak to open, keeping her clothes hidden. "I'm so sorry, you must think I'm a fool."

Arthur stood there for a moment, silently considering the girl in front of them. Merlin held his breath, waiting for the prince to say something. "I don't believe it," Arthur finally spoke as he turned to face Merlin again. "I simply can't believe that the two of you are related."

Merlin felt his jaw slacken slightly. Behind Arthur, Hermione had straightened up and was looking terrified. Arthur didn't believe him? Merlin had nothing now, no ideas on what to say that would help explain the situation. "Wh-"

"She is far too polite to be your sister," Arthur continued before Merlin could say anything.

After a second of pure disbelief, Merlin let out a laugh. Hermione looked like she was about ready to collapse with relief. "What can I say?" Merlin said, giving Arthur a smirk. "She inherited all the good manners of the family."

Arthur nodded, as if that explained everything. "So tell me, Hermione," he turned back to the girl. "When did you arrive in Camelot?"

"Just this morning," Hermione answered, trying not to hesitate in her response. Merlin gave her a nod of encouragement behind Arthur's back, it would be better if she stuck to the truth for at least some of these questions.

"You came to visit your brother, I'm guessing?" Arthur continued with his questions. Hermione kept this answer to a nod, waiting for the next question on the list. "Will you be staying long?"

"Uhm…" Hermione caught Merlin's eye, she was looking for some kind of cue to help her answer this one. Merlin could only give her an open-armed shrug, how was he supposed to know what to say? "Merlin and I haven't had a chance to talk about when I'll be leaving yet."

"I see." Arthur didn't immediately ask his next question. He looked as if he were trying to choose his next words carefully, but when he spoke his question was still to the point and not very tactful. "So Hermione, do you practice any sort of magic? Spells? Enchantments?" Despite the seriousness of his question, Arthur appeared very calm about it, loosely folding his arms over chest and sounding as though genuinely interested in the answer she would give.

There was the big question that he had been expecting. Merlin hoped this girl was smart enough to know what the right answer was. Just in case, behind Arthur's back Merlin started shaking his head and mouthed the word 'no'. He couldn't think of an easier way to get the message across. All he could do was hope she understood.

Hermione looked confused for a moment, although Merlin wasn't sure if it was the question or his own gestures that were confusing her. "No, of course not," she said, looking away from him and back to Arthur. "I would never even think about turning to witchcraft for anything."

"Okay," Arthur said, nodding at her answer. Merlin noticed that his stance loosened slightly after her answer. Was he relieved that she had given the expected answer? He turned and started to walk about Merlin's room. Arthur was now returning to his original goal and was looking around for anything suggesting the use of magic. "I don't need to tell you both how suspicious this looks, a girl showing up on the day a plague strikes Camelot," he said as he briefly looked under Merlin's bed.

Now that Arthur had stepped out of the way, Merlin moved to stand closer to Hermione. "She has nothing to do with this, I promise you that." Hermione also moved, stopping so she stood just behind his shoulder. She was just a little shorter than he was, so now she was partially hidden from Arthur's view.

Merlin watched Arthur straighten up and look over to them. "I believe you," he said, sounding as sincere as Merlin had ever heard him. He started walking towards the door. "But I will do what I have to in order to keep Camelot safe." Merlin only nodded as Arthur paused at the door to take a last look around. He seemed like he was going to say something, possibly about the state of Merlin's room, but then changed his mind. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Hermione."

Behind him he heard Hermione quietly say something about the pleasure being hers, but Arthur was already heading down the steps to rejoin the guards in their search.

* * *

Hermione relaxed a little with Arthur out of the room. She was embarrassed that she had been seen by someone else. That was three people who had seen her. What was this going to do to the future? Would she go back to find that half of her friends had never been born?

She realized that while she was worrying Merlin had said something and was patiently waiting for a reply."Sorry, what?"

"I asked if you were okay," he said with an understanding look. "I know Arthur can be a bit much sometimes."

"No, he's fine. I'm fine." Hermione insisted, not wanting to worry him. She forced a small smile on to her face, as if it would make the statement more sincere.

Merlin nodded, although she wasn't sure he believed her. It seemed like he suddenly remembered something and walked over to his bed. He started picking up discarded clothes and blankets, picking apart the messy pile, as if looking for something. "Have you seen a book in here?" he asked, dropping everything he had picked up and moving on to another messy area to look in.

"This?" she asked, producing a leather-bound book with metal clasps from the folds of the brown cloak. She was so used to carrying around books on a normal basis she had nearly forgotten she had been holding it. She had been hugging the book tightly since Arthur had entered the study downstairs, and it had been something of a comfort to her while the prince was interrogating her.

When Merlin turned around, he seemed almost shocked to find Hermione holding it. "You had this?" He asked, walking up to her. She only nodded in response, wondering if she had done something wrong. "You could read it?" He held his hand out, a sign that he would like it back.

"I read a few pages when you and Gaius left earlier," Hermione answered as she relinquished her hold on it. It made her glad she had decided to take Ancient Runes this year. Despite only having a few months of learning, she had been able to understand a lot of what was written and she was proud of that. "Why? Is there a reason I shouldn't have?"

"It's just, most girls I know can't read," Merlin said with an absent-minded shrug. "I think Morgana can, but she's a noble so that's to be expected…"

"Oh…" She had barely thought of how the world treated women in this time period. Merlin was right, most girls were never taught how to read in the past. Did that mean she wouldn't be allowed to read any books while she was here? While she wasn't planning on staying long, the thought of not being able to touch any books was mildly upsetting.

Her feelings must have shown on her face because Merlin spoke up again. "I wouldn't worry about it," he offered as he tossed the leather-bound book onto his bed. She wasn't really sure what he was telling her not to worry about, but it seemed like he wanted to get her mind off of whatever was troubling her. "Come on, let's go back downstairs."

Hermione nodded, letting him go on ahead. There was really no point to hiding in Merlin's room now that Prince Arthur knew she was here. She was sure he would have to inform appropriate people that there was another resident in Camelot, even if it was only temporary, and people talked. At this rate, the whole town would know she was here within a few days… She set off on a slow pace after Merlin, who was already in the main room again.

"And what did you tell him?" she heard Gaius ask as she reached the bottom steps.

"I uhm… I told him that she's my sister…" Merlin said somewhat sheepishly.

"Your - …" Gaius cut himself off, seemingly at a loss for words. He glanced over Merlin's shoulder, spotting Hermione on the bottom step. "You two look nothing alike," he finally said walking over to a table to retrieve the vial he had been holding before. Merlin had nothing to say to that statement, probably because Gaius was right. "The book?"

"Hermione had it." Merlin's answer caused Gaius to look up curiously at Hermione. She avoided his gaze, staying where she was on the bottom step. She felt very out of place as Merlin assured Gaius that Arthur never saw the book. She watched their disagreement slowly start to escalate, and couldn't help but wonder if it would be any better, or even worse, if she wasn't here. Did they temper their words with another presence in the room? Or would a witness embolden the two to use harsher words and criticisms?

"What do you think, Hermione?" Merlin's voice suddenly brought her back down to earth, and she saw he was looking toward her.

"Don't drag her into this," Gaius said in a stern voice, folding his arms across his chest.

She realized she had missed most of their conversation while she fretted about disturbing what should have been. "Sorry?"

"Do you think we should be using magic to cure people?" Merlin was looking at her expectantly, "Or should we let more people die while we try to create one?" He looked as though he was seeking an agreement with his own thoughts and not her own opinion.

"I...uhm…" she looked between the two of them. It wasn't really her place to say, and her answer could very well change what happens next. What could she say that would stay neutral between the two? "I… I think that you can cure the disease any way you want, but if you don't find the cause it will keep coming back."

Her answer made Merlin stop and think. It seemed he hadn't thought beyond the immediate future in his solution. Gaius, however, was looking at her with a note of approval. "She's right, you know," he said as he returned to his work. "If the source of this disease is indeed sorcery, we need to find the cause and stop it."

It had seemed like the neutral thing to say at the time, and her words left Merlin and Gaius in the same situation before she had spoken up, but she still felt uneasy. She sat down on the stairs, a quiet and out of the way spot where she couldn't possibly have an affect on the goings on of this time period.

* * *

Hermione's chosen spot turned out to be the best place to observe what Gaius and Merlin throughout the day. Gaius was completely in his element, examining each and every body that was brought into his study. If he was disturbed by the corpses that found their way to his tables, he didn't show it. He dug into each one, examining their innards and extracting their juices. Sometimes Gaius would ask Merlin for help, rarely he would ask for Hermione's aid and she was happy to stay as far from the corpses as possible. He came out of his concentrations only twice, to eat and question where Hermione was going to sleep. Before she could speak up on the topic, Merlin offered his own bed until they could get another. Gaius mumbled something of an agreement and went back to work.

Merlin was quick to come to Gaius' side whenever it was asked, although it was clear he was still unhappy that Gaius wasn't letting him use his powers to help people. Hermione found she agreed with his views, it was hard to watch people die while you had the power to stop it, but all the same she knew that the Ministry of Magic had enacted several laws discouraging the use of magic in front of Muggles for very good reasons. She was sure that the King and his knights wouldn't hesitate to pass swift and harsh judgement if they were found. That applied to her as well as Merlin, she realized. As Merlin passed her by to give his room a "quick cleaning", she pulled her wand from the folds of her cloak. The wood was warm and familiar, the quiet power of the dragon heartstring within providing some comfort to her. She would have to get used to not using it, maybe not even carrying it with her.

She continued to watch Gaius perform his examinations well after the sun had set. Gaius' requests for help became scarcer as the night wore on. Just as Hermione found herself starting to doze off to the sound of Merlin's yawns, Gaius told the two of them to get some rest. At first Merlin tried to protest being sent to bed, but Gaius insisted that they leave him to his work.

Hermione felt terribly awkward, taking Merlin's bed for the night, but the young warlock was insistent. At least he didn't seem too uncomfortable on the floor, falling asleep almost instantly in his nest of spare blankets. Hermione was finding it impossible to rest. The unfamiliar room was uncomfortable enough already, in the darkness all of her fears about being here in the past seemed one hundred times worse. She needed to take her mind off of things...

Her hand closed around her wand again. Maybe she could practice a spell or something? But she didn't want to disturb Merlin's sleep by muttering incantations. Perhaps she could try casting without speaking? She had seen adults use spells without words before, and she was almost certain Hogwarts taught the technique above Ordinary Wizard Level classes. Why not try now?

She lifted her wand, flicked the top of it, and focused on the word Lumos. ...Nothing happened. Frustrated, she repeated the process. Still her wand tip didn't light like she wanted. It couldn't be that hard, she told herself as she tried again and again. She continued to repeat her attempts until she finally fell into sleep's welcoming arms.


End file.
